June 26, 1908
BURNING SULFUR MARS A WEDDING.
BROTHER OF THE BRIDE SE- VERELY HURT.
HAND SERIOUSLY INJURED.
ANOTHER GUEST OVERCOME BY SULPHUROUS FUMES.
Home Where Ceremony Was Being Held Set on Fire Accidentally. The "Cutups" Find New Source of Torment.
Jokers made an attempt to fumigate the residence of Mrs. N. P. Maupin, 3609 Wyandotte street, Wednesday night while Mrs. Maupin's daughter was being married in the parlor to Harry Pierce, a furnishing goods dealer. As a result of the prank Robert Maupin, brother of the bride, may have an injured left hand the rest of his life, and J. J. Foster, a wedding guest, is still confined at his home, 2001 Woodland avenue, ill from inhaling deadly sulphur fumes.
The wedding ceremony was just performed and the formalities of bride-greeting were on, when Robert Maupin left the room to investigate the source of sulphur fumes, which had annoyed the guests during the last few minutes of the wedding service. He entered a rear room and was almost overcome by the fume before he discovered the tray on which the sulphur was burning. The jokers who placed the sulphur inside had closed the window again and Mr. Maupin was forced to raise the sash with one hand while he held the tray of burning sulphur in the other. The window "stuck," he jerked impatiently, and the tray was overturned. The burning mass ran over Mr. Maupin's left hand and he screamed in pain. In the meantime, J. J. Foster, who had gone in search of Maupin, heard the latter's startled cry and rushed into the room. The window curtains were ablaze and the carpet was burning. The deadly fumes prostrated Mr. Foster beore he could get out of the room, after putting out the fire and aiding Mr. Maupin with the window and the sulphur tray. Dr. Allen L. Porter was called from his residence at 3001 Central street. He revived Mr. Foster and treated Mr. Maupin's hand. Mr. Foster was then taken to his home and later another physician was called in consultation. Last night Mr. Foster was unable to leave his house. He insisted last night on going to the telephone and talking to Maupin. He had intended offering a reward for the detection of the jokers who caused his injury. Mr. Maupin, however, said he would prefer not to prosecute because he is sure the fumigating method was taken by friends, who merely tried to frighten the bride and groom. The flesh was burned from Maupin's hand, and the attending physician stated that some of the finger joints may remain stiff. Mr. Pierce and his bride, who was Miss L. Maupin, will leave tonight for a honeymoon tour of California and the Pacific coast. Their departure was postponed on account of the serious injury to the bride's brother and their guest. Labels: accident, Central street, doctors, Fire, pranks, telephone, wedding, Woodland avenue June 26, 1907 THEY SWAM TO PUT OUT A FIRE.
Firemen in East Bottoms Followed Through Flood by Team.
When hose company No 20, Guinotte and Montgall avenues, responded to an alarm of fire from the Park grain elevator, East Lynne street and Nicholson avenue, at 8 o'clock last night, the firemen found the burning structure surrounded by at least five feet of water, surrounded by at least five feet of water. Near the elevator was a fire plug, just barely covered with water. The team followed them. The wagon floated and the horses seemed to pull it with ease while swimming. When the wagon reached a depth where the wheels touched the ground and the bed with the hose was above water the firemen reeled off a section and the hydrant man made the attachment. The line was crried into the elevator and the fire put out. When it was all over the men, horses and wagon went back the way they had come.Labels: animals, Fire, flood, Guinotte avenue, Montgall avenue June 7, 1908 JOSEPH H. RAYBURN IS DEAD.
Assistant Fire Chief Was Injured While Trying to Spare Another.
Joseph H. Rayburn, assistant fire chief, died last night at 6:30 o'clock from injuries sustained in an accident while going to a fire May 19. Mr. Rayburn was at home for lunch, when an alarm of fire from the home of Dr. B. F. Watson, 2401 Wabash avenue, was turned in. Mr. Rayburn used his buggy in going for his meals, so the alarm was telephoned to his house, and he started to the scene of the fire. Rayburn, in driving on Wabash, collided with the cart of a by delivering papers. In attempting to avert the collision, he swerved sharply, turning his buggy over and throwing him against an iron lamp post.
He was unconscious when picked up and taken to St. Joseph's hospital. The injuries were thought not to be dangerous, but peritonitis developed later.
Mr. Rayburn lived at 3031 Prospect avenue with his wife and two sons. He was 47 years of age.
Mr. Rayburn was one of the best liked men on the fire department. He was appointed to the department and assigned to No. 8 engine company, December 21, 1886. He was promoted to a captain November 4, 1895, and placed in charge of No. 18 engine company. January 7, 1907, he was appointed sixth assistant chief, and placed in command of engine company No. 14, located at Twenty-sixth and Prospect avenue.
The funeral will be held Monday morning at 9:30 o'clock at the residence, 3031 Prospect avenue. Services will be held at the New Annunciation church, corner of Linwood and Benton boulevards, at 10 o'clock. Interment will be in Mount St. Mary's cemetery.Labels: accident, cemetery, death, doctors, Fire, Funeral, hospitals, Prospect avenue, Wabash avenue May 26, 1908 FIREMEN WANT SOME FLOWERS.
To Strew on Their Comrades' Graves Decoration Day.
If there are roses or other flowers blooming in your yard, the firemen ask that you spare some of the blossoms that they may decorate their dead comrades' graves Memorial day. Telephone the operator at fire headquarters, or notify any of the engine houses that you are willing to give flowers and the firemen will gladly come to get them.
The firemen have appointed a committee to gather the blossoms and decorate the graves, and it is urged that those that will help notify some firemen as soon as possible. Memorial day is next Saturday.Labels: Fire, flowers, telephone May 9, 1908 TO RETIRE SIX FIRE HORSES.
City Plans to Save Faithful Animals From Strange Keepers.
Six horses, that have become decrepit in the service of the fire department, are to be put on the retired list. Chief Egner asked the board of public works yesterday to either sell the horses or trade them for a team that can do the work.
R. H. Williams of the board and President Gregory suggested that if the animals were still able to do ordinary work, they should be transferred to the street or water department. There they will get the care and consieration to which they have been accustomed.Labels: animals, Fire, public works May 6, 1908 FIRE DAMAGES ELECTRIC PARK.
BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN IN- CENDIARY -- LOSS $20,000.
MUSIC PAVILION IS BURNED.
OPENING OF PARK WILL NOT BE DELAYED.
Indications Point to a Deliberate At- tempt to Burn the Buildings. Oil Used to Start the Fire.
Fire, supposed to be of incendiary origin, completely destroyed the music pavilion, one side of the German village and part of the promenade at Electric park, Forty-sixth street and Tracy avenue, last night about 9:30 o'clock. The damage is estimated at $20,000.
Flames were first seen pouring out of the northwest corner of the music pavilion and it is believed the fire was started in that vicinity. Harry Alexander, who lives at Forty-sixth street and Virginia avenue, was one of the first to discover the fire and turned in an alarm. He stated that within twenty minutes after he first discovered the fire the music pavilion was a mass of flames, and in a few minutes more was burned to the ground. The roof fell within fifteen minutes after the fire was discovered.
As soon as the fire was discovered the Electric Park fire department, members of which live near the park, turned out and made an attempt to subdue the fire, but it was beyond their control. Jack Hutson, a watchman at the park and one of the firemen, was overcome by smoke and had to be carried to the office. He recovered in a short time.
OTHER BUILDINGS SAVED.
Firemen from No. 22 hose house were the first to arrive, and by fast work managed to get the flames under control before they spread to the other buildings. They were assisted by several other companies which arrived later The music pavilion was completely demolished. It is next to the German village, and the side wall connecting them was destroyed. Part of the promenade in front of the building was destroyed.
That the fire was of incendiary origin is the belief of the fire department, M. G. Heim, one of the owners of the park, who arrived soon after the fire started, and the watchmen. The park has a private electric plant, and all currents were turned off the buildings so that the fire could not have originated from that source. No workmen have been in the pavilion or adjoining buildings for weeks, and nothing was in the pavilion to have caused the fire.
George Barker, a laborer living at 4501 Tracy avenue, made a statement at the park that he saw two negroes running from the scene of the fire shortly after the flames were discovered, but later stated that two children claimed they saw the negroes. He did not know the children's names.
HEIM SAYS "INCENDIARY."
M. G. Heim stated that he believed the fire must have been of incendiary origin. "There was no current on the electric wires in the music pavilion and nothing that could have caused a fire there," said Mr. Heim. "The saloon is to be established in another building, not far from the music ha, and it may have been the intention to destroy that building, but the attempt was not a success. The damage is about $20,000."
A squad of police was sent to the park after the fire and ordered to watch the buildings until morning to see that no further attempts were made to burn the buildings.
A score of workmen will be put to work early this morning clearing away the debris and preparing the music hall for the opening which will take place May 17. Mr. Heim stated that the fire will not postpone the opening of the park. A temporary open air shell will be erected for the band and the wall on the side of the German village will be rebuilt.
SAYS OIL WAS USED.
Jacob Baas, night watchman for the south side of the park, is positive in his belief that the fire was not only incendiary, but that a good quantity of oil was used in starting it. At 8:45 o'clock he made his rounds with a lantern, and there was perfect stillness and darkness all over the grounds. Being chilly, Baas went into his shack on the south and to the rear of the "boat tours" concession. He barely had time to light a fire and remove his shoes when a sheet of flame across the grounds above the music pavilion caught his attention.
When he rushed out there was far more smoke than flame -- great clouds of blackness that seemed to suggest that much of the interior was burning before the flames showed on the outside. Baas's immediate decision then was that "a plenty of oil must have been used to get that kind of a quick start."
His belief is that the start was below the German village back of the band stand, though when he got close the fire was spread so generally that there was nothing about the fire itself to suggest where it started.
Manager Rohrer of the People's Amusement Company, who lives at 4507 Tracy avenue, came upon the grounds soon after this, and with Jack Hutson, head night watchman, whose station is in the office near the gate, did what could be done to manipulate the company's fireplugs and hose. Hutson was practically overcome by getting into the thick of the smoke.
H. Smith and B. C. Smith, brothers, who work at the park days and board at 4619 Tracy avenue, saw Edward Solberg, park electrician, shut off all electricity early in the evening as he was leaving the park, and there is no possibility that the fire could have started from the electric wiring.
CHILDREN IN PERIL.
Sam Benjamin, the park manager, who lives in the clubhouse on the grounds was with his wife at the Majestic theater when told of the fire. An old negro servant had been left alone with the two small children of the family. All were in bed and the woman being hard of hearing, it was some time before she and her charges were aroused. Early in the fire the roof of the clubhouse caught, but a sudden downpour of rain quenched the blaze before it had a good start. Had it been a dry evening the clubhouse, starting to burn at this time, would probably have been in ashes before the intervening structures, and have rendered the rescue of the nurse and children difficult.
THEY CLIMBED THE FENCE.
After midnight last night M. G. Heim and the park manager, Sam Benjamin, discovered what they believed to be proof that incendiaries caused the fire. Two men had climbed the eight-foot board fence in the rear of the pavilion, using a large overhanging elm tree to aid in scaling the wall. Barbed wires along the boards had been cut and the footprints of the two men were plain, leading from the foot of the tree to the northwest corner of the pavilion, where Baas, the watchman, thought the fire must have started. The footprints were measured and watchmen left to guard them until morning, when the police will have opportunity to make minute observations of the prints.
Electric park, at its present location, was opened only a year ago this month. It comprises twenty-eight and one-half acres in extent, and represents an investment, M. G. Heim said last night, of $500,000.Labels: arson, children, Electric park, Fire, Forty-sixth street, Tracy avenue, Virginia avenue May 4, 1908 BURNED OUT A LITTLE EARLY.
Flue in the Midland Caused a Pink Pajama Parade.
A fire occurred at 5 o'clock yesterday morning at the Midland hotel, which was not according to schedule. The practice of burning out the flue at stated intervals has long been followed there, but yesterday morning it burned out of its own volition and thereby hangs a tale...
Tom Bishop, the clerk, was peacefully sleeping in his room on the sixth floor when he was suddenly awakened by a dense smoke which pervaded his room. He jumped out of bed, gave the alarm, caught up a pitcher of water, and, clad in nothing but pajamas, rushed through the halls looking for the fire. He hadn't got it located when a bell hop relieved his fears, but it was not until several guests on the same floor had witnessed the exhibition. If it hadn't been Sunday, Tom would have been buying the cigars. As it was, he was imploring his friends to "keep still."Labels: Fire, Midland April 21, 1908 SAYS PAT M'GUIRE WAS TWICE KILLED.
DROWNED AND THEN BURNED, BUT LEFT AN ESTATE.
His Widow, Who Married Another Between Pat's First and Second Death, Wants the Property Settled.
Two tragedies are recalled by the petition filed in the probate court yesterday by C. W Prince, attorney for Mrs. Mary F. McGuire, calling upon William Moore, administrator of the estate of Patrick McGuire, to make a partial division of the estate.
On March 29, 1903, McGuire, then living under the name of Oscar W. Ramsey, was married to Mrs. Mary Cochran, a widow, the present petitioner. When the flood of May, 1903, came, McGuire, then known as Ramsey, went out to engage in rescue work. He never returned. The wife advertised for him in the daily papers, when such advertisements were printed free after the flood subsided, but could get no reply or trace of him. On June 30, 1904, she married John W. Ballard, a point tucker.
The Ballards lived happily for over two years, when, in October, 1906, the Chamber of Commerce building in Kansas City, Kas., burned. Mrs. Ramsey-Ballard read that Patrick McGuire was among the missing tenants of the building, and that Mrs. Donald Logan, a friend of his, had escaped. Mrs. Logan's description of McGuire, printed in the papers, tallied to the dot with the missing Ramsey's appearance. Mrs. Ballard also recalled that the husband, known to her as Ramsey, had roomed at Mrs. Logan's house before she met him, and that friends who came to visit, after her marriage, called for Pat McGuire. Putting two and two together, Mrs. Ballard decided that the McGuire who was burned in the fire was none other than her husband. She talked to Mrs. Logan, and saw among the effects of McGuire, saved from the fire, a handkerchief which she had given Ramsey, and into which she had embroidered the initials, "O. W. R."
She was then positive that her husband had not been drowned in the flood, but was burned to death. She went into mourning again. Her marriage to Ballard was, by effect of her discovery, annulled.
McGuire left an estate in Wyandotte worth something over $20,000. The probate court of Jackson county, at Mrs. Ramsey-Ballard-McGuire's request, took charge of it, and William Moore was appointed administrator in December, 1906.
A few weeks ago a Mrs. Patrick O'Neal of Chicago sent a representative to Kansas City to secure a share in the estate, claiming that she was a sister of McGuire. This claim she has proven to the satisfaction of the probate court.
McGuire's wife's petition of yesterday is to have the administrator divide the estate between herself and Mrs. O'Neal. Mrs. McGuire's attorney hopes to secure practically all of the property for her under a Missouri statute which provides that estates lying outside the state shall be administered according to the law of the state which they be, and a Kansas statute, which gives all of an estate to the widow, if there are no children.
Mrs. McGuire lives at 2812 Spruce avenue.Labels: death, Fire, flood, Kansas City Kas, probate, Spruce avenue April 4, 1908 "PAPA, PLEASE PUT ME OUT."
Cried Little Ethel Phipps, Whose Clothing Was Aflame.
"Papa, please put me out," little Ethel Phipps, 4324 Forest avenue, yesterday morning at 9 o'clock called to her father, E. C. Phipps. Hearing the cry, but not understanding it, Mr. Phipps hastily went from the dining room to the kitchen of his home, there to see his 4-year-old child enveloped in flames. She had been to the basement to burn some papers, and had undertaken to light the gas in the furnace. The "flare back" had caught her clothing, and the child hurried upstairs for help. When she reached the kitchen flames were from the hem of her little dress to her neck. A coat was thrown around her and the little girl drenched with water from the kitchen faucets.
Although almost all the child's clothing was burned, the only bodily injuries incurred were burns on the back of her head and neck. Her father's hands were severely burned during the fight to extinguish the flames which threatened the life of the little girl. After Dr. W. C. West had examined the little patient, he said that there would be no permanent marks left on the child's body.
"It is almost incredible," said Dr. West, "that the child could have gone with burning clothes form the cellar to the kitchen, wait for help, and be alive."Labels: children, doctors, Fire, Forest avenue April 2, 1908 DOORS MUST OPEN OUTWARD.
Police Will Make Arrests if Public Building Owners Fail to Comply.
To prevent a repetition of the Collinwood school tragedy in any of the Kansas City schools or public buildings, the police board yesterday instructed Chief Ahern to see that the city ordinance requiring all doors in public buildings to open outward is strictly enforced.
"Arrest all persons who do not comply with this law after being properly notified," Commissioner A. E. Gallagher told the chief.Labels: Commissioner Gallagher, Fire, police board, Police Chief Ahern, schools March 21, 1908 HORSES PERISH IN A FIRE.
Royal Brewing Company's Station Burns -- Loss $10,000.
Fire, which was seen to burst out from every window in the front part of the Royal Brewing Company's warehouse, 1012 Grand avenue, and which spread to the coal and feed store of A. Maas & Son, 1910 Grand avenue, at 12:30 o'clock last night, destroyed property estimated at the value of $10,000. Five horses were burned in the Royal Brewing Company's stables.
It is thought that the fire was of incendiary origin, as the whole front of the building seemed to flash into sudden flame. Passers-by who were the first to see the blaze said that the fire started as if it were an explosion, but that they felt no shock nor did they hear any noise. They said that the fire started and burned as if the walls of the building had been saturated with gasoline or coal oil.
When the fire department arrived at the burning building the blaze had spread widely and the feed store directly on the north had caught. The contents of the brewery, such as whisky and alcohol, made excellent fuel of the fire, and it was difficult to extinguish the blaze.
In the Maas & Son building the burning hay and feed made it hard for the firemen to get at the blaze on account of the dense smoke. All of the horses which were kept in this building were rescued.
The Royal Brewing Company has its headquarters in Weston, Mo., and the building which was destroyed last night was its distributing station in Kansas City. Dancinger Brois. owned the brewing company.
The Royal Brewing Company's building was a one-story brick, and the coal and feed store, which adjoined, was built of frame and was only one story in height. Both buildings were gutted.Labels: alcohol, animals, breweries, Fire, Grand avenue March 19, 1908 CHILD BORN TO INJURED WOMAN.
Mrs. Hilda Holmquest, Landis Court Fire Victim, Has a Daughter.
Mrs. Hilda Holmquest, who on February 2, jumped from the third story of her home at 406 Landis court during a fire, sustaining fractures of both legs, a scalp wound and internal injuries, yesterday gave birth to an eight-pound daughter in the Swedish hospital. Both mother and child were doing well last night. At the time of the fire in Landis court Mrs. Holmquest rushed to the rear fire escape with another woman's baby in her arms. She threw the baby to the ground and it was caught by a bystander and unhurt. Mrs. Holmquest leaped after the child and struck the pavement in the alley. She was taken immediately to the Swedish hospital, where she has since remained. When she was first injured the attending physician entertained little hope of her recovery.Labels: children, Fire, Landis court, women March 3, 1908 CAR WRECKS A HOSE WAGON.
No. 3 of Kansas City, Kas., Is Struck and Firemen Are Hurt.
While making a quick turn in a run to a fire at 1452 and 1454 Kansas avenue, Armourdale, at 10 o'clock last night, the hose wagon of No. 3 fire company was struck by a car at Fifth street and Kansas avenue and was completely demolished. Lieutenant Harry Powers, Edward Seers, Roy Broadhurst and Frank Hill of the company, riding on the wagon, were thrown violently to the pavement, each receiving slight injuries. The front end of the car was shattered by the wagon as the horses, running at full speed, tried to avoid a collision. The animals were not injured.
On account of the disabling of No. 3 hose company by the crash the fire in the two cottages belonging to Henry Zimmers at the numbers mentioned was allowed to burn unchecked until a company had arrived from fire headquarters. Even then it was necessary to lay 2,350 feet of hose from the nearest fire plug in order to get the stream within working distance. Both cottages were total losses. The damage is estimated at about $3,500.Labels: Armourdale, automobiles, Fire February 8, 1908 NEGRO FIREMEN MUST MOVE.
Famous No. 11 to Be Transferred to Vine Street Station.
The administration has turned a deaf ear to the pleadings of the negro population not to move negro fire company No. 11 from Independence avenue, and will transfer it to the old fire station on Vine street, near Eighteenth, soon to be vacated by a company of white firemen. The latter organization will be installed in a handsome new firehouse the city is erecting on Virginia, near Independence, close to the old shack that the negro firemen have had to put up with for years.
Naturally, the negro firemen are considerably put out with the change, and the claim is made that they are entitled to better quarters than they have been getting, and into which they are to be moved.Labels: Eighteenth street, Fire, race, Vine street February 3, 1908
CAUGHT BABY AS IT FELL
EXCITED WOMAN HAD TROWN INFANT FROM THIRD STORY.
BUILDING WAS IN FLAMES
MRS. HILDA HOLMQUEST OBEYED A CROWD'S YELLS TO JUMP.
Man Caught the Baby as It Dropped, but the Woman Struck the Hard Pavement and Was Badly Hurt. 
MRS. HILDA HOLMQUEST.
Who Heeded an Excited Crowd's Advice to Leap From a Burning Building, and was seriously hurt.
Cut off from escape by the stairs in a fire in 406 Landis court yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Hilda Holmquest rushed to a rear fire escape three floors above the paved alley, with another woman's child in her arms and stood a moment dazed while flames shot up at her from a window on the floor beneath. It seemed impossible for her to descend the ladder through the flames and the excited crowd below cried to her to jump.
"Oh, take the baby," she said, "it is not mine."
Then she threw the infant and jumped after it.
George M. Thomas of 910 Wyandotte street, one of the crowd beneath, caught the babe by one arm and both feet and dodged Mrs. Holmquest's falling body.
The child was unhurt. Mrs. Holmquest struck the brick pavement and suffered a broken knee, a serious scalp wound and internal injuries. She may recover.
RESCUED BY FIREMEN.
Two minutes after Mrs. Holmquest jumped the truck and ladder company from No. 4 fire station arrived and rescued all of the other people imprisoned by the fire in the upper floors. They are: Mrs. Edward McNamara, wife of the police sergeant; Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Bushnell and Mr. and Mrs. Mellin.
Others than Mrs. Homlquest, who were injured in the blaze, were people on the first floor. The fire started from an unknown cause in a closet in the apartments of Mrs. Frank Alley, on the first floor, and when she opened the closet door it had gained such headway that already it was eating its way through the ceiling into the rooms above and it burst out of the closet upon her, singeing her hair and burning her hands.
A Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, who were visiting Mrs. Alley, were unable to reach a door before the flames cut them off. Mitchell's face was burned deep into the flesh. Mrs. Alley was unable to save anything from her apartments.
The rescue of Mrs. McNamara from a window above the floor from which Mrs. Holmquest leaped was a thrilling one. When she discovered the fire she rose from her bed, where she had lain for six weeks because of sickness, crept to a window, and seeing nothing below her but smoke and flame, climbed along the window ledge on the third floor to the window of hte adjoining apartment, No. 408. There she remained until Captain John Vaughn of the fire company put up a ladder, climbed it and carried her to safety.
WENT DOWN THE LADDER.
Mr. and Mrs. Bushnell and the Marlins, their guests, were also on the third floor. Smoke and flame coming up the stairs and enveloping the fire escapes compelled them to sit in their windows and await the arrival of the firemen. No. 4 truck company ran up three ladders and brought them all to safety.
When the work of rescue was finished the firemen turned their attention to the blaze and extinguished it after a hard battle. Two companies were called and assisted No. 4. The fire damage was confined to the three foors of the one apartment, although tenants of the apartments on either side suffered damage by water.
CAUSE OF FIRE UNKNOWN.
Last night no cause for the fire had been discovered. M. G. Harmon, agent for the property, said that the loss will probably amount to $4,000 or $5,000. The "court" runs from Broadway to Washington street on Eighteenth street on both sides and includes twenty-two houses, accommodating four families each on as many floors. Howard B. Waldron, mayor of Hisllsdale, Mich., bought the property five years ago for $200,000 and $80,000 insurance is carried.
Mrs. August Josephson, mother of the baby that was dropped three stories, returned soon after the fire and found her child at her sister's, Mrs. H. O. Axene, at 402 Landis court.
Mrs. Holmquest is 28 years old and came here from Providence, R. I. She has been married eight months and is the wife of Theodore Holmquest, a porter, employed at the Emery, Bird, Thayer Dry Goods Company. He was at work yesterday and she had left her home at 1638 Pennsylvania avenue to visit Mrs. Josephson and was caring for the baby, Velma, while Mrs. Josephson attended a funeral. Velma is eight months old.
Labels: Broadway, children, Eighteenth street, Fire, Landis court, Washington street, women, Wyandotte street January 30, 1908 BUILDINGS BURN AT SUGAR CREEK.
Saloon and Pool Hall Destroyed.
The explosion of an oil lamp in Rodman's saloon at Sugar Creek early last night set fire to the building. A call was sent to Independence for assistance but the fire department was not sent out as it was not considered that a water supply could be had sufficient to warrant the services of the department. The fire department from the Standard Oil refinery worked on the blaze but the building was destroyed. The flames spread to a pool hall next door and this building also was a total loss. The damage is estimated at about $7,000. Labels: billiards, Fire, saloon, Sugar Creek January 24, 1908 NEGROES DON'T WANT TO MOVE.
Firemen Object to Going to Even Eighteenth and Vine Streets.
An old row has broken out in the fire department over the color scheme, through the building of a double fire house facing the old baseball grounds on Independence avenue. No. 11, a negro company, has been in this district for many years. Now that a new station with facilities for two companies is being completed, preparations are being made to transfer this negro company to Eighteenth and Vine streets, where No. 10, a white company, now is, and send that company to Independence avenue to share the new station with some other white company.
The negroes do not want to go to the Vine street station and wire pulling has started. Property owners have got into the fight and the alderman, Lapp, is in all sorts of trouble.
"But the change will be made," said an official yesterday. "The chief runs the department and he has the right to change companies about. He knows that the district on Independence avenue has built up, and that there are flats built close to the fire station. He knows that a white and a negro company could not get along as well together in the same headquarters as two white companies, and all of us know that the negro firemen will find more of their people at Eighteenth and Vine streets than they have now in Independence avenue."Labels: Eighteenth street, Fire, Independence avenue, race, Vine street January 6, 1908 MANY HORSES DIE IN FLAMES
FORTY-TWO PERISH WHEN WY- ANDOTTE LIVERY BURNS.
Two Heroes Carry Crippled Woman From Blazing Rooming House. Three Buildings Destroyed. Loss $40,000.
Forty-two head of horses, most of which were roadsters owned by business and professional men, perished in a fire that destroyed the Jockey Club livery and boarding stables at 446 Minnesota avenue, Kansas City, Kas., last night shortly after 8 o'clock. A number of the animals were family buggy horses and were boarded at the stable by the owners. In addition to the livery stable loss, the hardware establishment of F. & F. Horseman, at 905 and 907 North Fifth street, and the tin shop of Cashman & Beard, at 909 North Fifth street, were burned. These buildings, which were small frame structures, were reduced to ashes and the contents totally destroyed. The aggregate loss caused by the conflagration is estimated at about $40,000, a small percentage of which is covered by insurance.
Not the least thrilling incident during the fire was the daring rescue of Mrs. Eliza Johnson, a crippled woman, from her room on the second floor of E. M. La Veine's rooming house at 901 North Fifth street. Mrs. Johnson, both of whose legs were amputated some years ago, was left helpless in her room when the smoke from the blaze next door filled the house. La Veine's house was ablaze when Patrolman Edward Fraker and Fireman Charles Abram found their way up the back stairs and carried her through the smoke and flames to a rear window and down a ladder. Mrs. Lottie Hartley, who had previously escaped from the same building, fainted when she saw the rescuers enter the building to save Mrs. Johnson.
ONLY NINE HORSES SAVED.
The fire was discovered by James McGuire, a stable hand, who noticed smoke issuing form the basement of the barn where a number of the horses were kept. He gave the alarm to several other employes of the stable who were sitting in the office, and before an investigation could be made flames commenced to shoot through the first floor of the building from the basement. An alarm was turned into fire headquarters, and while the stable is only a block from the city hall the flames had gained considerable headway before the first stream of water was turned on. he firemen did rapid work, but the water pressure was so weak that little could be done to check the fire until the steamers were brought into play.
As near as could be estimated last night by Emmett W. Uhrich, proprietor of the stable, there were fifty-one horses in the barn at the time the fire broke out. Thirty-seven of these were in stalls on the second floor of the barn and the remaining fourteen were in the basement. Immediate attention was given to the imprisoned animals, but the smoke and fire had maddened them and it was almost impossible to get them out of their stalls. Many were released from their halters and started out of the barn, but in their frightened condition they would invariably rush back into their stalls. Of the total number in the barn only nine were rescued.
The fire spread rapidly and when the hay was reached the flames burst forth as if fed by oil. He hardware store and tin shop, which adjoined the barn on Fifth street, were soon in flames and, as the buildings were old frame structures, they burned like kindling. At one time a large number of business houses in the vicinity of Fifth street and Minnesota avenue were endangered.
KEGS OF POWDER EXPLODED.
While the fire was at its height and the firemen fighting desperately to get control of it thousands of cartridges began exploding in the ruins of the hardware store. Two or three kegs of powder also exploded. This made the work of the firemen hazardous, but they stuck to their posts of duty.
It is said the fire started in the northwest corner of the basement among the hay bales there. Probably it was spontaneous combustion, as some of the bales were wet when put into storage a few days ago, and the barn is heated by steam pipes, which also run through the basement.
James McGuire, who turned in the alarm, says of the origin of the fire:
"I was coming up the street from Minnesota avenue, when I saw flames issuing from a window in the basement. I stooped and, looking in, saw horses in great commotion within the barn. One of them, a beautiful animal, had his nosed pressed through the broken pane of a window farther down on the west side of the building, as though pleading for rescue."
G. A. Vaughn, foreman of the stables, who lived on the second floor in the southeast corner of the barn with his wife, was sitting at a piano idly drumming on the keys. Suddenly he thought he smelled smoke, and, turning, saw a thin column arising from a nail hole in the floor near the entrance from the loft.
Vaughn says he had just time to help throw out some of the smaller articles of value in the room and help his wife escape. All his personal effects to the value of $1,200 were destroyed.Labels: animals, Fire, Kansas City Kas, Minnesota avenue, rooming house December 27, 1907 HE LEFT A TUB OF GASOLINE.
And Other Roomers Feared It Would Explode -- Firemen Emptied It.
An unknown man procured a tub of gasoline last night which he placed in a room at 110 West Fifth street. It was evidently his purpose to clean an overcoat, for one was found in the tub. It all might have gone well, but the other occupants of the building began to smell the gasoline as it evaporated through the rooms. Becoming fearful of fire the telephoned to fire headquarters and asked that the matter be looked into.
A man was sent to the house. He poured the gasoline down the sewer.Labels: Fifth street, Fire December 17, 1907 PULLED HIS ARM INTO PLACE.
Hose Captain O'Sullivan's Men Per- formed Surgical Operation.
A defective flue caused a fire in the home of Bert Liles, 1814 Newton avenue, Sheffield, last night at 9 o'clock. Liles and his family had gone to church but the neighbors saw the fire and sent in the alarm.
When the companies arrived it was discovered that a closet which was built in the wall next to the flue had caught fire. Captain James O'Sullivan of hose company No. 21 opened the door of the closet. The space which was closeted off had never been floored, and the captain, not knowing this stepped through the rafters. He fell about four feet, throwing his right arm out of place at the shoulder. He called for help and his companions, in attempting to pull him up to the floor again, caught hold of his right arm. They gave a strong pull and the dislocated joint fell back into place. O'Sullivan will be laid up for a few days.Labels: Fire, sheffield December 7, 1907 MORRIS LABORATORY BURNED.
A Gas Explosion Started a Fire at the Packing Plant.
Fire, resulting from an explosion of gas at 7 o'clock yesterday morning, destroyed the contents of the chemical laboratory on the fifth floor of the Nelson Morris packing plant. No one was in the laboratory at the time of the fire.
The fire department of the plant kept the flames confined to the laboratory until the firemen arrived.
Because of the fumes from the various acids in the laboratory, particularly the ammonia, the firemen had a difficult time, and a change of hosement was necessary every few minutes. Two of the firemen for the plant were overcome by the ammonia fumes, and had to be dragged from the hose to a place of safety. The recovered quickly.
The damage to the ocntents of the laboratory was placed at $1,000. The loss by water has not been estimated.Labels: Fire December 4, 1907 MRS. CROWLEY'S MISFORTUNES.
Her Husband Died, Her Home Burned, a Child is Ill and She is Penniless.
For several days the doctors at the Emergency hospital have been caring for Mrs. Maria Crowley, and trying to find a place where she can earn enough money to support herself and three children. Three months ago Mrs. Crowley's husband died. Then about a week ago her youngest child, 6 months old, became ill with pneumonia. Saturday the house in which Mrs. Crowley lived, at Fifth and Harrison streets, burned, destroying all her clothing and furniture. The Associated Charities is caring for two of the children. The other is at the emergency hospital.Labels: Associated Charities, emergency hospital, Fifth street, Fire, Harrison street, illness, women December 1, 1907
BUT HER MONEY WAS BURNED.
Sick Woman Rescued With Diffi- culty Wanted to Go for It.
Fire was discovered in a grocery store at the southeast corner of Fifth and Harrison streets this morning at 12:30 o'clock. An alarm was not turned in until the fire had gained considerable headway and the whole upper story, which was used as a residence, was in flames.
While the firemen were fighting the flames a report was spread about that Mrs. J. W. Taggart, who lived over the grocery store, was still in the building and too ill to save herself. Firemen were sent into the house and, after some difficulty, succeeded in rescuing the woman. After she was safely placed upon the ground she remembered that her husband had about $150 in the burning room. She made an attempt to go after the money, but was held back by firemen and the police. The money was in paper and gold and was not found.
The building was owned by William Hall. It was a large two-story frame and was used for stores and residences. The first floor was occupied by Salvato Trapino, who ran a grocery store, and a barber shop owned by Juan Laroso, who lives at Fifth street and Troost avenue.
The fire was supposed to have started from a gasoline tank which was kept in the rear of the grocery store. The loss is estimated at $5,000.Labels: barbers, Fifth street, Fire, grocers, Harrison street, Troost avenue October 1, 1907 BACK FROM THE ASYLUM.
Return to Independence of Man Who Attempted to Burn Church.
W. H. Patterson, who has been confined in the insane asylum at St. Joseph reappeared yesterday in Independence. Patterson some years ago attempted to burn the Hedrickite church on Temple street. He claimed that he was acting for the Lord in throwing down monuments erected on his Holy ground. Patterson was arrested after firing the church, and sent to St. Joseph for treatment. He was let out and again returned to Independence, where he gave a warning to Mayor Prewitt that he was back again and would have to carry out his message from the Lord and burn down the church. The mayor telephoned for the police and Patterson was again taken back to the asylum.Labels: churches, Fire, Independence, mental health September 28, 1907 MISTOOK IT FOR FIRE.
Sky in the West Had Appearance of a Conflagration.
"We haven't enough hose and ladders to reach that fire," remarked Fire Alarm Operator Gilpatrick last night.
"What fire is that?"
"Oh, no fire at all; just a red light in the sky over west. The wires have been hot for three hours with inquiries about the location of the blaze. This is one night I have been busy without any fires."
"Why should people be alarmed at a glowing sky?" was asked.
"The excitement has not died down from the Altman buiding and the Eighth and Delaware fires, I suppose."
And then an alamr came in from a real fire at Twenty-third and Park, which caused a further congestion of business.Labels: Delaware street, Eighth street, Fire September 9, 1907 A SHAVE CAUSED IT ALL.
Firemen Called to Scarritt Building to Abate Cloud of Smoke.
There was a fire scare at the new Scarritt building, Ninth and Grand avenue, about 7:30 o'clock last night. It being Sunday evening, few of the tenants were in their offices. A still alarm was turned into fire headquarters. Outside the building there was nothing to account for the presence of the firemen. Janitors had told the few tenants when they had taken alarm when they saw the firemen enter the building that there was no danger.
It all came about form a janitor heating some water on a temporary stove in the basement preparatory to taking a shave. He had his razor laid out, the strop was hanging on a nearby nail, and all that was needed was hot water with which to make a lather. Finally the water on the stove reached the boiling point, and the janitor reached to take it off. The pan was hot, and he burned his fingers. He attempted to deposit the pan of water on a table as quickly as he could. As he leaped, his elbow struck the stove pipe, and disjointed a section of it. A moment before he had thrown in a fresh shovelful of coal, and dense, black smoke issued from the disjointed section of pipe. It filled the basement and began to curl in dense volumes up through the open ventilators in the sidewalk.
Someone in the Rialto building saw the smoke coming from the sidewalk, and turned in the alarm to fire headquarters. By the time the firemen reached there, the pipe had been put back in place, and most of the smoke had been blown form the building. The janitor heated another pan of water, and finished his Sunday shave.Labels: Fire, Grand avenue, Ninth street, Rialto building, Scarritt building August 27, 1907 HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH GAS.
When Wheeler Struck a Light the Building Burst Into Flames.
E. Wheeler, of 2028 Charlotte, has found the most expensive plumber. One who was working on the gas pipes in his house yesterday forenoon left a joint open and went to lunch. Mr. Wheeler came home and ate a cold snack himself. It was too hot for cooked stuff, so there was no occasion for lighting a match until Wheeler was ready for his after dinner smoke. Then the odorless natural gas, a houseful of it, flashed into a blaze, and before the firedepartment arrived $250 damage was done to the building and $200 to contents.Labels: Charlotte street, Fire August 10, 1907 YOUNG GIRL BURNED TO DEATH.
Nona Gard Attempted to Start a Fire With Gasoline.
Nona Gard, the 14-year-old grand-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Gard, 531 South Pleasant street, Independence, was burned to death yesterday afternoon by a gasoline explosion. The kitchen range was located in the basement of the small home and Nona was preparing some warm water for a bath. She had been absent but a short time when screams came from the basement. The girl ran into the yard enveloped in flames. Her aged grandfather ran after her and after circling around the yard she fell beneath a tree, burned to a crisp. The grandfather poured water on her blazing garments, but did not extinguish the flame until life had left the body. Finding the basement ablaze he turned his attention to the fire there which was easily extinguished. The girl after going to the basement found that the fire in the cooking range had died down after the noon day meal and attempted to start it up with gasonline.Labels: children, death, Fire, Independence July 8, 1907 LATE LOCATING FIRE.
Department on Scouting Tour finds Burning House in Ruins.
The dwelling of Charles Bosley, 3211 Myrtle avenue, was almost totally destroyed by fire together with its contents, just before midnight last night. The family were absent in Kansas on a visit and when neighbors discovered the flames the structure was doomed.
A remarkable feature of the fire was that while many people telephoned fire headquarters that a fire could be seen in the southeast part of town, all who phoned said they were not near it and could not give its location. William Rothrum, fire alarm operator, could do nothing but send out a scouting company to try and locate it. Hose company No. 18, of Twenty-sixth street and Prospect avenue, was given the task, and on finding the location also found it useless to call for help as the house was six or seven blocks outside of the fire zone and was beyond saving. The total loss was estimated at $2,500.Labels: Fire, Myrtle avenue, Prospect avenue, Twenty-sixth street July 5, 1907 COFFIN BURNED AT WAKE.
Thirty-Five Italians Were in House When a Lamp Upset.
At the wake of Antonio Bruni, 120 East Fourth street, last night the overturning of a coal oil lamp set fire to the coffin and the floor of the room. The sacred candle stick was knocked to the floor and when the firemen arrived, one corner of the coffin was burned through. Thirty-five Italians were crowded in a back room. After the fire was out they filled up the halls and front rooms and teh wake went on. It was at the residence of Sam Bruni, brother of the deceased.Labels: Fire, Fourth street, Funeral July 5, 1907
FIRECRACKERS EXPLODED IN BOY'S POCKET.
While Ralph Dodson, 10 years old, was walking in Elm Ridge park yesterday morning, planning how to have the most fun out of a pocketful of firecrackers and matches, the matches and crackers got together. Ralph was seriously burned on the hip and leg. His trousers were ruined. His brother, Bruce Dodson, Jr., 12 years old, had both hands burned in extinguishing the blaze. The boys are sons of Bruce Dodson, of 3731 Main street.
Labels: accident, children, Elm Ridge, Fire, Main street June 26, 1907 A REPRIMAND FOR LAWYERS.
Change of Venue Taken Merely for Delay, Judge Wallace Says.
Judge W. H. Wallace delivered a lecture to the attorneys for George Smith and J. C. Taylor, charged with arson in the first degree, because they asked for a change of venue to Judge Porterfield's division of the court.
"I'll grant these applications," the court said, "but I say now to all of the attorneys in the court room if a change of venue is taken from this court to the other division, the party need never afterwards come before me asking for a parole. This change of venue is a bad practice and is meant solely for delay. We labored to get the legislature to allow us two divisions of the court to expedite the trial of criminal cases, and then some of the attorneys try to nullify our efforts by spending time in going from one court to the other.
"I am charged by both defendants with being partial. This charge is false. I could not have been prejudiced against Taylor, because I have not tried him yet. I gave Smith a fair trial and the jury disagreed."
Smith and Taylor are charged with burning a restaurant at 113 West Twelfth street for the insurance.Labels: arson, courtroom, criminal court, Fire, Judge Wallace, Twelfth street June 20, 1907 IN GAS EXPLOSION
WOMAN FATALLY BURNED AND KITCHEN WRECKED. MRS. SKAUV STRUCK MATCH
NEIGHBOR EXTINGUISHES FLAM- ING CLOTHES OF WOMAN. Windows and Door Blown Out, Ceiling Forced Up and Pictures Torn From Wall in Resi- dence at 4423 Forest Avenue.
"Like a thousand cannon booming," is the phrase used by a next-door neighbor to describe the explosion wh ich took place about 10 o'clock last night in the four-room cottage of George Skauv, 4423 Forest avenue, practically wrecking the house and probably fatally burning Mrs. Teresa Skauv.
The explosion is believed to have been the result of natural gas which had collected. The family, which is composed of George Skauv, a boxmaker employed by the Kansas City Packing Box Company; his mother, Mrs. Teresa Skauv, 63 years old, and his wife, left the house shortly after 8 o'clock. Skauv and his wife had gone to visit his sister, Clara Skauv, 2325 Madison street. Shortly after Mrs. Teresa Skauv was seen to close the doors and windows and walk north on Forest avenue, presumably to visit one of the neighbors.
At 10 o'clock she returned. P. G. Stokes, an employe of the Ellis Planing Mill Company, who lives next door, saw her come into the yard and go to the back door. She unlocked the door and stepped into the kitchen. A moment later she struck a match.
"Then I heard a noise like a thousand cannons," said Stokes. "A second after I heard a woman scream at the top of her voice. I rushed to the rear door of the Skauv house.
"Just as I reached there Mrs. Skauv staggered out onto the porch, moaning and crying. Her clothing was on fire, and she was attempting to put out the flames by beating them with her hands. I took of my coat and wrapped it around her, and in a short time the fire in her clothing was extinguished."
Mrs. Skauv was then carried into the Stokes home and the physicians called.
At the sound of the explosion, which was heard for blocks around, neighbors gathered about the Skauv home. The first comers discovered that the kitchen was afire.
"Form a bucket brigade!" shouted someone, and immediately there was a rush to the neighboring houses for buckets, dish pans, cooking utinsils, anything which would hold water. But before the members of the bucket brigade were ready to get into action, someone had found a garden hose attached to the hydrant in the yard, and the flames were extinguished before any appreciable damage was done. The fire department was not notified.
An investigation of the premises after the fire was extinguished showed that the explosion was one of unusual force. Pieces of glass from the window were found in the street nearby half a block away.
The back door was blown off its hinges, and was found twenty feet away in the back yard. The pictures were blown from the walls. Both windows in the kitchen were shattered. A front window was blown out. The ceiling had apparently been raised by the force of the explosion.
A peculiar thing was that the west windows of the bedroom in the northwest corner were shattered, and pictures knocked from the walls, while not even the frailest piece of bric-a-brac was disturbed in the parlor, which is in the southwest corner with no hall between it and the bedroom. The parlor opens off the kitchen, where the explosion occurred. The only explanation which Skauv could find for this is that probably the parlor doors were both closed, while the doors of the northwest bedroom which opens into a room at the southwest corner of the house, and so to the kitchen were opened.
The explosion apparently took place close to the ceilings, which are about ten feet high. The top panes in the two kitchen windows were broken, while the lower panes remained unharmed. The ceilings everywhere seemed to have been lifted.
The kitchen where the explosion seemed to have occurred, is equipped with a gas chandelier with two jets, and a gas range. The other three rooms have gas lights. A careful search showed that all the burners were properly turned off, and it is the theory of the neighbors that one of the pipes was efective. Escaping gas could not be noticed anywhere in the house after explosion.
Mrs. Skauv was so badly burned that she was unable to talk last night. George Skauv and his wife did not know of the explosion until they returned from their visit shortly after 11 o'clock.
Dr. W. C. West and Dr. L. C. Dod, who attended Mrs. Skauv, hold out slight hope fore her recovery. She was badly burned about the neck, arms and back. It is believed that she inhaled some of the fumes.Labels: accident, Fire, Forest avenue, Madison street May 12, 1907 MISS WITTEBART'S FUNERAL TODAY
The funeral of Miss Aurora Wittebart, who lost her life in the University building fire, will take place tis afternoon at 3 o'clock from St. Patrick's church, Eighth and Cherry streets. There will be no services at the home of Mrs. F. C. Schmidt, where the remains were taken from Stine's. Miss Wittebart's parents, who are at the Densmore, were able to leave the hotel yesterday to assist in the arrangements for the funeral. May 12, 1907 FUNERAL OF PROFESSOR De MARE
The funeral of Professor Georges De Mare, the high school drawings instructor who was killed in the University building fire, was held yesterday morning at 10 o'clock at St. Vincent's Catholic church, Thirty-first and Flora. Rev. Francis X. Antill conducted the services. Burial was in Mount Washington cemetery. Labels: cemetery, Cherry street, churches, Eighth street, Fire, Funeral, ministers May 10, 1907 STILL IN RUINS
SEARCH FOR MISS WITTEBART'S BODY MAY BEGIN TODAY HER FIANCEE NEARLY CRAZED.
CONVENTION HALL OFFERED FOR A BENEFIT CONCERT.
The body of Miss Aurora Wittebart, who met death in the University building fire, is yet lying somewhere in the mass of debris of the burned building. No real attempt has been made to recover it, as the ruins were too hot yesterday to permit the firemen to work to any advantage, although streams of water were kept playing on them a great part of the day. It is thought that a search will be made today.
Miss Wittebart perished in the wing of the building where the fire was most severe. This part of the ruins was one of the first to fall, and the unfortunate woman was doubtless buried beneath a great mass of brick, broken irona nd timbers. As soon as the men can get into the building, the tottering walls will be braced and a determined effort will be made to find her body.
Early in the morning, Miss Wittebart's fiancee, George Jackson, wento to the scene of the fire to assist in the search, and was greatly affected when told of the unavoidable delay that would be necessary before the body could be recovered. Mr. Jackson told a pitiful tale of the efforts of his betrothed to reach him by telephone when she realized that escape was hopeless. He is an employe of the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company and was in his office at the company's headquarters when the fire began. One of the central girls told him that a woman was calling him from the Pepper building, and that she was evidently in great distress. Just before he reached an instrument to answer his sweetheart's call, she was heard to cry out in despair, and it is thought she fell to the floor, overcome by the smoke and the heat.
JACKSON NEARLY PROSTRATED
Mr. Jackson immediately called the fire heaquarters to learn of the fire, and then he ran to the burning building. Of course, he was powerless to aid her in any w3ay. The shock of her death, and the agony of suspense he has u ndergone in the realization that his fincee's body is still lying in the debris, unnerved him and last night he was almost completely prostrated.
Wr. and Mrs. Wittebart, father and mother of the dead girll, arrived in the city last night, and are registered at the Densmore hotel. Both of them were almost prostrated with grief and had not a great deal to say about the calamaty that has befallen them.
'We were at the our home in Coffeeville when the news reached us yesterday evening, said Mrs. Wittebart. "It was a terrific shock to us. We had recently had a letter from our daughter, and of course we never dreamed of any such horrible thing as this. We should have come to the city last night, but Mr. Wittebart, who is not in the best of health, was utterly prostrated at the news and we could not come.
"We have made arrangements as to what we shall do when we find the body. We hardly expect to take it back with us. We shall probably have a funeral here in Kansas City. It is so terrible we do not know just what we shall do.
The remains of Professor Georges de Mare, the other victim of the disaster, were left at Stines during the day. It was announced that no arrangements for the funeral will be made until the arrival of Professor de Mare's mother from Denver. She is expected to reach here this morning.Labels: death, Denver, Fire, romance May 9, 1907
ONLY ONE KNOWN DEAD IN UNIVERSITY FIRE, THOUGH IT IS BELIEVED RUINS HOLDS ANOTHER BODY
GROPING HIS WAY THROUGH SMOKE FILLED HALLWAYS, GEORGES DeMARE BECAME CONFUSED AND LEAPED OR FELL TO HIS DEATH
WOMAN CANNOT BE FOUND.
Miss Aurora Wittebart Believed To Have Perished in the Doomed Structure
WOMAN FALLS FROM LADDER.
Through Blinding Smoke Fight for Life Waged.
The University building, at the northtwest corner of Ninth and Locust streets, was totally destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon, causing a loss of $125,000 on the building and resulting in the death of Professor Georges De Mare, head of the art department in Central high school, who jumped or fell from a window on the fourth floor of the burning building.
The body of Miss Aurora Wittebart is supposed to be still in the ruins.
The loss to the various tenants cannot be known with any degree of definiteness for some time. With the exception of Montgomery Ward & Co., who occupied the first two floors, most of the occupants of the building were musicians and artists. The Radford pharmacy occupied the room at the corner of Ninth and Locust, and the Kindergarten Supply Company occupied the room immediately to the west of the pharmacy.
The fire caused more excitement than any which has occurred in Kansas City in years, owing to the ancient architecture of the building and the large number of women who had studios in the building, and the fact that several hundred girls were employed by Montgomery Ward & Co. There were many sensational escapes and displays of heroism, the most notable being the rescue of Miss S. Ellen Barnes, a music teacher, by Fireman Charles Braun.
She Died of Suffocation?
Death by suffocation is thought to have been the fate of Miss Aurora Wittebart, and artist who had an office in the fifth floor of the building, and was there when the fire started. She was last seen by Miss Barnes just as Professor de Mare jumped to his death. She is thought to be the woman Mr. Farrel saw with de Mare, as he groped his way through the smoke to safety. De Mare leaped to death from a window leading out of her studio.
Miss Wittebart is the daughter of a glass manufacturer who lives at Coffeyville, Kas. She was only 22 years of age, and had been studying art and painting in Kansas City for several months, and was to have been married to George Jackson, an employe of the Missouri-Kansas Telephone Company.
Last to See Miss Wittebart.
"Just before I learned that the building was on fire Professor de Mare was in my studio," said Miss Helen Barnes last night. "We were talking about music and art, and finally he arose to go, saying that he was expecting a visitor in his studio. He walked to the door and opened it. A gust of black smoke burst through the open door, and it was then we realized that the building was on fire. Professor de Mare called to me to get out of the building immediately and started down the hall. I started to follow, but soon realized that I could not find my way through the dense smoke. I went to a window from where I saw Miss Wittebart standing at a window on the floor below. She was near the rear fire escape and I supposed she had descended. Professor de Mare had opened a window and was preparing, I thought, to mount the landing of a fire escape. I returned immediately to my studio and, raising a window, made a feeble attempt to call for help. the smoke strangled me, and I threw my purse out to attract the people below. That was needless, though, for I had been seen by the firemen, and at that time ladders were being rapidly placed to reach me. I saw the fireman who rescued me climbing upward. There was determination in his manner, and I seemed to realize when I looked upon his smoke-begrimed, upturned face that he would surely reach me. It was his determined look that strengthened me and seemed to give me new courage."
Cleveland Laid Cornerstone.
The building was constructed nearly twenty years ago for the Y. M. C. A., Grover Cleveland laying the cornerstone in 1887 during his first term as president. It cost $112,000, and after the Y. M. C. A. was compelled to relinquish it the building passed into the possession of the Pepper estate, being in turn sold to the Sunny Slope Realty Company. There was an insurance of $72,000 on the structure.
The first alarm was turned in a few minutes before 3 o'clock by O. W. Hoover, proprietor of the Kindergarten Supply House, next door west from the drug store on the corner. Mr. Hoover heard the girls employed by Montgomery Ward & Co. hurrying down the stairs and out of the building and soon afterwards smelled the smoke. He called up the fire department and was informed that no alarm of fire had yet been turned in. Mr. Hoover thereupon turned in the alarm.
Dr. William West, formerly a fireman and later a police surgeon, who ha an office in the Rialto building, saw the smoke pouring form the building and was one of the first physicians to reach the scene of the fire. He attended Fireman Braun, who rescued Miss Barnes, and did valiant and effective service throughout the fire in extending first aid to the injured.
300 Girls in a Panic. The fire started in a pile of 8,000 pounds of hemp rope, which was stored in the pit of the building. Until recently the Kansas City Athletic Club had occupied the premises and it had made the basement and main floor a single room. Around this room ran a balcony. Montgomery Ward & Co. were occupying the room and in it they had a pile of hemp stored for immediate use. Without any warning whatever smoke began issuing from it and a crackling sound was heard. There were some of the 300 girls the mail order house employed in the Kansas City general offices, within two feet of the rope, and scores of them within sight. Immediately on hearing the sound of the crackling and seeing the little jets of smoke at the same moment, the girls began to tell each other there was a fire, and precipitously prepared to leave the place. O. Q. Massey and J. M. Miller, clerks, at the same time made a rush for the starting fire and tried to trample it out. Despite their efforts the fire gained on them, jets coming from twenty parts of the pile. A rumor that someone had stepped on a match, igniting it, is completely discredited by the evidence given by a dozen or more clerks who were sitting in the pit where the hemp blazed.
While Henderson, Massey and Miller were trying to stamp the fire out, Mrs. Lucille Baker, in charge of the squad in that particular room, began getting her forty subordinates out of the place. Manager W. P. Walker had 200 girls at work in what once was the swimming pool. Their only avenue of escape was to walk toward the burning hemp and up a temporary staircase. In the most amazing manner, the manager succeeded in getting the clerks to stand perfectly still until they could march out of the place in twos, and in that manner he got every one of the 200 out of the pit and to the street level without the slightest confusion. There was every possibility of a jam at the staircase, which could only have resulted in a great loss of life.Labels: death, doctors, Fire, Kansas City Athletic Club, Locust street, Ninth street, retailers, Rialto building, YMCA May 9, 1907
LOST HIS LIFE IN THE FIRE 
GEORGES DE MARE.
PROFESSOR GEORGES DE MARE, who was at the head of the art department in Central high school, occupied studio 508, in the southeast corner. He made his way to the fourth floor, and, finding his way blocked with smoke, he jumped to the ground and was almost instantly killed. The remains were taken to Stine's undertaking rooms and later to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Craig Hunter, 1202 East Thirty-fourth street, to whose daughter Miss Adeline Hunter, Professor de Mare was married December 26 of last year. He was 38 years of age.
The tragic death of Professor de Mare shocked a wide circle of friends. He had been at the head of the art department of Central high school for the past two years, ever since coming to the city. He was universally liked by the pupils, and his death cast a gloom over the entire school.
Professor de Mare came of a family more than noted in the art world. His maternal grandfather was G. P. A. Healey, one of the greatest of American painters, who had painted portraits of Clay, Lincoln, and other notables. His father, who was a noted painter in Paris, died in that city a few years ago. The professor himself was born in this country, but was educated and lived in Paris until a few years ago. He held various responsible positions in leading art institutions of the country, especially in Chicago. His mother and two sisters live in Denver, another sister is in Paris, and two aunts, Mrs. Judge Hill and Mrs. Besley, live in Chicago.
Mr. and Mrs. Hunter were notified of the accident and Mr. Hunter and his daughter left the house for the scene of the fire without knowing at the time that Professor de Mare was dead. The tragic event prostrated the members of the entire household. Labels: death, Denver, Fire, schools, Thirty-fourth street May 7, 1907 HENDERSON WANTS A VACATION. |
